


In Warm Far Away

by with_beauty



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Beach Trip, Cuddling & Snuggling, Fluff, Han Lives, Multi, Podfic Welcome, The original trio are now the new trio's parents, Vacation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-05
Updated: 2016-01-05
Packaged: 2018-05-11 20:57:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,186
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5641711
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/with_beauty/pseuds/with_beauty
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Is that what an ocean looks like?”</p><p>A day of fun in the sun is just what the kids needed.</p>
            </blockquote>





	In Warm Far Away

**Author's Note:**

> The title comes from the song "In the Sun" by Blondie
> 
> This story turned into a monster I don’t really know what happened. I meant it to be a cute little one shot but it’s so long :O
> 
>  
> 
> Listen guys. Han’s not dead, okay? He’s just not.

“What are you doing out here?”

The voice startled Poe, Finn, and Rey where they sat under the nose of Poe’s X-wing, stealing a quiet moment from the morning bustle of the base. The trio whipped around, looking up into the face of General Organa. She didn’t look happy.

“M-Madame General,” Poe stuttered, “we – we were –”

“No excuses,” she said, frowning. “Up you get.”

All three scrambled to their feet, none of them quite managing to look Leia in the eye. Rey rubbed at her arm sheepishly.

Abruptly, Leia burst into laughter. Three heads snapped up as one.

“Oh, come on now,” said Leia, collecting herself. “You didn’t really think I’d be angry with you for taking a little break, did you? Especially on your day off.”

“Our day off?” piped up Finn. He hadn’t realized that today was a rest day.

“That’s right.” Leia grinned mischievously. “I’m giving you three special permission to take the day off. As long as you come with me.”

The trio exchanged looks, wide smiles spreading across their faces. They nodded.

With a gesture for them to follow, Leia turned on her heel and started to make her way across the airfield. Spotting their destination, Rey leaned forward.

“The _Millennium Falcon_?” she queried. “Are we going somewhere?”

“We are!” Leia said brightly as they neared the ship. “I just can’t say where. Han doesn’t want me to tell.”

“What are you saying about me?” Another voice drifted out from the top of the _Falcon’s_ entry ramp, becoming louder as Han sauntered down it, dressed in his classic leather jacket.

“I’m saying that you want to keep our destination a secret.”

“Hey, now, don’t go pinning anything on me,” the man grumped. “This trip wasn’t even my idea.”

Leia looked like she would say something more, but at that moment Chewbacca’s growling moan sounded from the depths of the ship. Han turned towards the source of the noise.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m coming,” he called. As he walked back up the ramp, Leia rolled her eyes at her younger companions. Finn only just managed to stifle his giggle.

The group followed Han up into the ship, trooping into the lounge where Finn and Rey had first seen the projection of the map that lead to Luke Skywalker. At this moment, the man himself sat behind the holotable, smiling serenely. Grinning back, Rey moved to sit at his side. Leia seated herself at his opposite elbow, and Finn slid in next to her.

Poe remained in the doorway, looking around in awe. He’d heard countless stories about the ship, but he’d never been in it before. He was pleased to see that the inside didn’t look quite as banged up as the outside.

Just then, Han walked into the room.

“All right, we just have a few more checks to get done. Everyone ready to go?”

The group seated around the holotable nodded, and he turned to go.

“Oh, Han!” Rey exclaimed. He looked back at her, and she widened her eyes into her most innocent look. “Do you think Poe could take a look at the cockpit? It’s his first time onboard.”

Han turned his attention to the pilot still standing slightly inside the door. Poe tried to look as nonplussed as possible as the older man narrowed his eyes. Finally, Han turned back to the hallway.

“C’mon, kid,” he called over his shoulder. Poe hastened to catch up, only pausing to throw a huge grin back at Rey. She gave him a little wave in return, giggling with Finn as they heard him telling Han how much of an honor this was. When they had rounded the corner to the cockpit, she fixed her attention on a large box sitting atop of the holotable.

“What’s that?”

“Oh, it just has some things for the day,” Leia replied. “I can’t say what or it’d ruin the surprise.”

Rey sat back with a sigh. Finn shot her a sympathetic look. He was far more used to being kept in the dark than her, used to not being told what he would be doing or where he was going. This secrecy felt almost familiar to him, but it was obviously something of a frustration to Rey. It didn’t help that the Jedi-in-training was endlessly curious about _everything_. She always wanted to take everything mechanical apart, to see how it ticked, and was constantly peeking into storage bins and lockers when she probably shouldn’t be. She was just so used to thoroughly exploring her surroundings.

Rey squashed her disappointment at being left out of the loop, and the four sat in at companionable silence for a few minutes. Eventually, Poe made his way back to the lounge. Rey perked up when she caught sight of him.

“What did you think?”

“Oh, it was great! She’s a real beauty, isn’t she?” Rey nodded her agreement. He laughed. “I’m just amazing she’s still flying after all this years. But hey, look who I found!”

A small, round, orange and white head poked out from behind his legs.

“BB-8!” Finn and Rey exclaimed in unison. The droid rolled into the room, making a beeline for Rey. She patted its head happily.

Poe sat down next to Finn, slinging his arm across his shoulders.

Han’s voice crackled on over the in-ship comms. “Ladies and gents, we are on our way! Next stop –” He stopped abruptly, muttering, “ _Kriff, I almost said it_.” Then he returned to his normal volume.

“The destination doesn’t matter. Just enjoy the ride.” The comms shut down with a loud crack.

In the lounge, the _Falcon’s_ passengers were barely managing to contain their laughter. Their mirth wasn’t directed at Han’s blunder, though, but Rey’s response to it. She had shot straight up in her seat, thinking that he was going to reveal their destination. When he’d caught himself, she’d sunk back again, a frown etched onto her face.

The _Falcon_ roared to life under their feet, jetting into the upper reaches of the atmosphere. As it drifted into open space, Han carefully ran through his flight sequence, ending with his hand on the lever at his side. He pushed it forward, sending the craft into hyperdrive. The passengers seated in the lounge felt the punch as the stars streaked out around the ship.

As they rocketed through hyperspace, the group chatted idly amongst themselves. Luke wanted to pull out the old training remotes and run through a lesson with Rey, but Leia shut down the idea, saying that she shouldn’t be made to do any exercises on her day off.

“Maybe some other time,” Luke winked.

After about 20 standard minutes of hyperspace travel, Han’s voice crackled back onto the comms.

“Preparing for descent,” came the perfunctory announcement.

Everyone settled back into their seats, feeling the jolt as they came out of hyperdrive. Han easily navigated them down to the surface. They landed with only the smallest of thuds.

Seconds later, Han and Chewie reappeared from the cockpit to collect their passengers. The humans stood up and trailed Han down the passageway to the entry ramp. Chewie followed, the large box in his arms, and BB-8 trundled along behind them. As they descended down the ramp, they were all, minus the droid, blinded by the bright sun outside. They stopped, blinking, letting their eyes adjust to the light. When they did, the younger trio was struck speechless.

In front of them stretched an expanse of white sand. But instead of extending to the horizon, as Rey was used to, it was interrupted by a body of water as huge as the one on the planet where Luke had hidden himself away.

Beside her, Finn felt as though the breath had been knocked from his lungs. He couldn’t tell where the water ended. As he looked ahead of him, then from side to side, it seemed to go on forever, the dusky blue waves undulating over the surface. He turned to Han in wonder.

“Is that what an ocean looks like?” He’d once seen an ocean from the Star Destroyer he had called home as it passed over a New Order-aligned planet. He had marveled at its vastness then, but had never imagined just how overwhelming it would look from the surface.

The smuggler nodded. “Welcome to Adin.”

“Wow,” breathed Poe as he stepped out onto the sparkling sand, “this is beautiful. It reminds me of home a little. My mom and dad used to take me to the beach on Yavin 4 in the summer.”

Rey stepped out next to him, shading her eyes from the sun. She turned back to the ramp where Luke still stood.

“Is this like the ocean around the temple, Master Luke? It seems calmer.”

“Calmer and warmer,” he said with a smile. “It’s not much like what you’ve experienced at all. You’ll like it.”

Excitedly, Poe took Rey’s hand and began to drag her towards the water, with BB-8 at his side.

“Not so fast!” Leia instructed. The two stopped in their tracks. The command seemed to shake Finn from his daze as well from where he still stood on the _Falcon’s_ ramp. All three looked at their general.

“We have something for you first.” She turned to the Wookie standing underneath the ship. “Chewie, would you mind?”

Chewie let out a guttural groan and set the box down on the sand, opening up the lid. With his huge paws, he lifted out a few scraps of fabric.

“Bathing suits!” Poe exclaimed.

“I had BB-8 get a couple from your room, Poe. One for you, and one for Finn,” Leia explained. “I hope you don’t mind.”

“Of course not! This is great! We’re the same size, right buddy?” he addressed Finn.

Finn nodded, smiling at Poe’s enthusiasm. The pilot moved to take the swim trunks from Chewie, depositing one of the pairs in Finn’s hands. Rey stood awkwardly out on the beach.

Leia indicated the light blue fabric in Chewie’s other paw. “This is for you, honey. I borrowed it from Lieutenant Connix, she’s about your size.”

Rey stepped forward hesitantly, her hand hovering over the bathing suit. Chewie gave her a reassuring rumble. Finally she took it.

It felt like the smooth, sleek material that lined the inside of Poe’s flightsuit. The blue color was shot through with silver threads, subtle enough to simply give the fabric a slight shimmer. Rey thought she might actually like it. That is, until she separated the two pieces.

She looked at Leia in consternation. “Is there any more?”

Poe peered at the suit in her hands. “A lot of girls wear suits like that.”

“It’s more modest than some,” the general muttered.

“I think it’ll look really good,” Finn called, cracking a grin.

Rey hesitated for a moment more before Leia patted her on the shoulder.

“Might as well give it a try,” she said kindly. Then she winked. “I really think your boys will like it.”

Rey giggled in spite of herself and looked up to where Finn and Poe were standing. They grinned back at her.

Han stepped forward and took Leia’s hand, looping it through the crook of his arm. “All right, kids,” he said. “This is where we leave you. The grown-ups have some important political business to take care of.”

“You’re not staying?” Poe asked.

“I’m afraid not,” said Leia. “There should be plenty of food onboard, though, and we packed towels and sun protectant in the box for you to use, too. We’ll be back before sundown.”

With that, Han, Luke, and Leia started towards the jungle pathway at the edge of the beach, followed by the huge figure of Chewbacca. Rey, Finn, and Poe stood in silence for a moment, watching them go, until the quiet was broken by an insistent beep from BB-8. The droid nudged its little head against the back of Rey’s knees. She shook her head. No knowledge of droid binary was needed to figure out what this one was trying to say. She joined her friends on the entry ramp, and together the walked back to the _Falcon’s_ lounge.

Rey clutched her swimsuit to her chest. “I’ll be right back,” she said, ducking into the storage bay around the corner.

The suit actually fit pretty well. Lieutenant Connix’s hips were apparently wider than hers, but that was a simple fix of adjusting the strings at her waist. She seemed to be about as flat chested as Rey though, which was a relief. Still, Rey felt nervous. She’d never shown this much skin in her entire life. Her stomach felt incredibly bare.

“Rey?” Finn called from the lounge. “You doing okay?”

She let out a breath. “Yeah, I’m – I just feel exposed. There’s really not much here.”

“C’mon, Rey, it’s nothing we haven’t seen before,” Poe teased. Finn smacked him lightly. He tried again. “Rey, you’re gorgeous. You have nothing to be afraid of.”

Steeling herself, she finally walked back out into the lounge. As she reappeared, she forced herself to keep her hands at her sides and her shoulders relaxed.

Her companions were dressed in their suits as well, Finn’s dark green trunks setting off the bare skin of his chest, and Poe’s black pair matching his tousled hair. When they caught sight of her, they sucked in matching breaths.

Poe smiled flirtatiously at her. “See? What did I tell you? Gorgeous.”

“You really look great, Rey,” Finn agreed. He reached for her, pressing a firm kiss to her lips.

As he pressed in, her bare stomach brushed pleasantly against his exposed abs. She let out a soft sigh. She might be able to learn to like the bathing suit after all.

Breaking the kiss, Finn slid his hands over her shoulders and down her arms, taking hold of her hands. He led her over to Poe and placed her palm against one of his own. As the man closed his fingers around hers, she smirked.

“I know how to walk without you two holding my hands,” she teased.

“Believe us, we know.” Finn grinned.

“This is more for our sake than yours,” Poe chimed in.

Rey let her smile grow and gently swung their hands as they reemerged from the belly of the _Falcon_. BB-8 was waiting patiently by the box with the towels and sun protectant they were supposed to use. Poe let go of Rey’s hand and reached for the small aluminum bottle.

“All right, safety first.”

Rey gave him a skeptical look. “You do remember I spent most of my life on a desert planet, right? I don’t really think I need that.”

“I’m not sure I do either,” Finn said, looking down at his dark skin.

Poe let out an exasperated huff. “Trust me, you both need it. On Jakku, did you have this much skin showing, Rey? I don’t think so. And Finn, dark-skinned people can get sunburns too. Just as easily as light-skinned people.” He held up the can of sun protectant, looking somewhat menacing. “Now, c’mon. Let’s get coated up.”

The other two rolled their eyes at each other, but acquiesced to his demands.

Rey stepped up first, squealing when the cold spray hit her chest. Finn got in a good laugh at her sake, but when it was his turn, let out an undignified squawk as he was subjected to the same experience. They both shivered and squirmed as Poe sprayed the protectant over their skin. By the end of the ordeal, his eyes were watering with the effort of keeping in his laughter.

Rey swiped the bottle from Poe’s hands, a manic glint in her eyes as she turned the nozzle back on the pilot. To hers and Finn’s disappointment, though, he had no reaction to the chilly spray. He accepted it quietly, with his eyes closed and his arms held away from his sides so that Rey could cover his whole body. As soon as she finished, his eyes sprang open and he clapped his hands together.

“Let’s get this day _started_!” he exclaimed. BB-8 beeped excitedly and zipped ahead of them towards the water. He stopped about halfway there and rolled around in a little circle, letting out another string of enthusiastic beeps.

“That looks perfect, BB-8! Thanks buddy!” called Poe. He gathered the large towels from the box, and the trio followed the BB unit down the beach. When they reached the spot the droid had marked out, Poe shook out each towel, laying them down side by side in the sand. He sat on the one on the end, and indicated that his friends should sit down too. They took the positions they normally took when all three of them sat together, with Rey in the middle and Finn on her other side.

For a minute, they all sat in silence, just listening to the waves on the shore. Then Rey turned to Poe.

“What do you do at the beach?” she asked.

“What do you do?” he echoed. “Um, well, you can play in the sand, you can play in the water, you can just lay out in the sun if that’s what you feel like. You pretty much do whatever you want.”

She considered this for a moment. “What do you mean by ‘play’?” Both she and Finn looked at him curiously.

Poe was hit by a sudden pang of sadness. Of course they wouldn’t know how to play. Both had had their childhoods stripped away from them, Finn by the strict stormtrooper training and Rey by the harsh lifestyle of a scavenger.

He tried to force a smile for them. “It just means you have a bit of fun. Dig in the sand, splash around in the waves, that kind of thing.”

His friends nodded seriously. Unable to bear their gravity, he leapt to his feet.

“C’mon, I’ll show you,” he said. He pulled them up and jogged a few feet ahead of them.

“So, which would you rather? Sand or surf?”

Finn and Rey glanced at each other.

“We don’t know how to swim,” Finn said gently.

“We’ll stay in the shallows,” Poe replied, keeping his smile plastered on his face. “You wanna?”

Finn nodded hesitantly and Rey raised her shoulders. Both looked nervous.

Finally, Poe’s grin slipped. “I’m sorry guys.” He took hold of his companions’ hands. “I know this is all really new for you. I just want you to have a good time.”

Rey slid her arms around his waist.

“We know, love.” She pressed her face into his shoulder, muffling her voice. “I – I’m just afraid.”

Poe smoothed his palms across her shoulder blades. “You never went in the ocean at the temple?”

She shook her head. “The cliffs were too high and the water was too rough.”

“Well, look.” Poe turned them, angling her towards the ocean, then reached back and took Finn’s hand to draw him in as well. “Look at the water here. This is one of the calmest oceans I’ve ever seen. See how small the waves are?”

Rey nodded against his neck, but still clung to him. He looked at Finn in concern. The other man rubbed at her mid-back, just under the clasp of her swimsuit top. He leaned in close, speaking softly.

“We’re here, angel. Poe and I, we’re here to keep you safe. We won’t let anything happen to you.”

Slowly, Rey unfolded herself from Poe’s chest. Before she could move away, he reeled her back in for a kiss, soft and sweet.

“I’m glad you told us, baby. I know it’s hard to admit when you’re scared.”

She smiled softly and leaned back in for another kiss before turning and pressing her lips to Finn’s.

“I’ll be okay with you two here,” she said as she looked between the two. She turned her attention to the ocean and took a deep breath. “Let’s do it.”

Catching Rey’s hands easily, Poe and Finn walked with her towards the rolling waves. At the edge of the water, they stopped. It lapped gently at the sand in front of their toes for a few moments, not yet reaching them, until a large wave washed in and covered their feet.

Finn and Rey let out identical gasps.

“It’s so _warm_!” Finn blurted. He took another step forward, then another, his two friends following him. Soon, the water passed their knees.

“That’s good for now,” Poe said, stopping them. “Small steps, right?”

Both of his companions grinned back at him. The three stood quietly, letting the waves roll in around them. Rey waved to the spherical droid sitting on the shore. It beeped happily and rocked from side to side.

Then, without warning, Poe stooped, splashing two huge handfuls of water into Rey and Finn’s faces. They stood frozen, water dripping off their noses and chins, while Poe clutched his sides in laughter.

It wasn’t long until they retaliated, though, almost creating a whole new wave as they ganged up on the pilot. The trio immediately launched into a splash war, soaking each other thoroughly within minutes. Finn laughed uproariously the entire time, absolutely delighted, and Rey and Poe couldn’t help but laugh along.

The ex-stormtrooper was the first to stop, panting, while Rey and Poe traded a last few splashes.

“All right, all right, break it up,” he teased. “I wont have my two partners fighting.” Poe and Rey giggled in between pants.

Finally, Poe recovered himself enough to speak. “Do you want to try going further out?” Before either of his companions had a chance to look nervous, he continued, “We can try out what it would feel like right here.”

They glanced at each other briefly before nodding.

“Kneel down like this,” Poe instructed, sinking to his knees so that the water came up to his chest. Only hesitating slightly, Finn and Rey followed suit. Rey’s eyes widened slightly at the feeling of water covering so much of her body, but Finn was grinning fit to burst. He patted at the top of the waves, splashing them a bit as they swirled around him.

Chuckling, Poe asked, “What do you think?”

Rey’s quiet “Wow” was drowned out by Finn’s loud exclamation.

“I love it!” he nearly shouted.

Poe laughed long and loud. “Let’s go then!”

He stood, dragging his friends up with him, and led them deeper into the water. Rey squeaked every time a wave washed up over her stomach, but held tightly to Finn and Poe’s hands, resolutely sloshing forward. When the water came to their chests like it had in Poe’s demonstration, the pilot pulled his friends to a stop again.

Finn beamed at him. “This is fantastic,” he said. “Can I go out further?”

“Well, I guess sure, if you want to.” Finn watched the skin between his companion’s eyebrows crease. “Just, be careful. Don’t go too far, okay?”

The ex-stormtrooper nodded in response and turned to take a few more steps out into the ocean. He was conscious of Poe’s nerves, though, and only moved a few feet away, shooting a reassuring smile over his shoulder.

After watching his friend for a few moments to make sure he was really safe, he turned to Rey. He had had an idea for her when they were wading out.

When he met her gaze, he couldn’t help but smile.

“I’m going to teach you how to float.”

“How to float?” she queried.

“Yeah. Like this.” He flopped backwards, kicking his feet up in front of him. The Adinian ocean was surprisingly buoyant; it kept him afloat without much effort on his part. He relaxed for a moment, just letting himself drift, before lowering his feet back to the sand below. When he looked up, Rey’s face was alight with excitement.

“That looks _fun_ ,” she enthused.

“It is.” He grinned. “Okay, what you’re going to do is lean back and then kick your feet up.” He put one hand on her back and the other on her neck. “Gently now. I’ve got you.”

Poe guided Rey’s upper body backwards into the water as she lifted up her legs, pushing up with the hand on her back to help her adjust to the new position. She was startled a bit by the way the water covered the back of her head, but she thought she liked it. It felt soothing.

“You’re doing great,” Poe said. “If you spread your arms and legs out a little it’ll help your buoyancy some.”

Rey did as he suggested. He grinned. “All right, I’m going to let go now. Are you ready?”

She nodded, jostling her body a bit in the water. Poe took a second to steady her again before slowly pulling his hands away.

When Rey felt his hands move away from her body, she broke into a huge grin. Holding herself as still as she could, she called out for her other friend.

“Finn, look! I’m floating!”

Finn turned, wading a few steps closer to the pair. Poe held up his hands, grinning, to show that he wasn’t holding onto her.

“You look like a natural,” Finn said. Her laughter bubbled up into the air.

Poe looked down into Rey’s vibrant face. God, he loved it when she smiled. She looked so sweet and young, like the troubles of her past had been wiped away. He wanted to make her smile always. Glancing over at Finn, he could tell the other man felt the same.

He reached out for him. “Your turn, hot shot.”

Finn looked surprised, like he hadn’t expected to be given the chance.

“C’mon!” Poe coaxed.

“It’s _fun_!” Rey encouraged. She tried to paddle her hands slightly to get a better look at what was happening.

Finn smiled wide and stepped into Poe’s grip. The pilot adjusted his hands like he had on Rey.

“Ready? Just kick your feet up like you’re gonna lie down,” he instructed. He helped the other man lean back like the girl floating next to them and got him settled on the surface of the water. His hands lingered on Finn, wordlessly guiding his arms and legs into a better position. Finn shivered lightly under his touch. Slowly, Poe leaned down to press his lips against Finn’s. The other man gasped against his mouth and moved in the water as if to stand again. Poe pulled back sharply.

“Finn,” he accused, “you’re supposed to be floating.” Rey let out a giggle.

Finn pouted for a moment, but let his friend rearrange and steady him.

“I’m letting go now,” said Poe. As his hands slid away, Finn felt his muscles clench. But he didn’t sink. The ocean water held him up, cradling him gently. It almost felt like he was being suspended, like a ship in a tractor beam. Slowly, he started to relax.

Poe’s face appeared over him. “You okay, buddy?”

Finn felt his face melt into a smile. “This is great! Rey, can you see me? I’m floating too!” He reached out carefully for Poe, his hand connecting with his hip. “Poe, come float with us. We can all float together!”

Poe grinned down at him. “That’s a great idea, buddy. Here, hold on to Rey’s hand, and I’ll hold onto yours so we don’t drift apart.” He nudged Finn parallel to Rey so that they could take each other’s hands, then grabbed Finn’s other one as he laid back carefully in the water.

The trio drifted quietly up and down on the buoyant waves, their faces turned up towards the sun.

Poe sighed contentedly. “It feels like being rocked to sleep,” he said without thinking. He cringed; he didn’t want to bring up more bad memories of Rey and Finn’s childhoods.

After a moment of silence, Rey spoke up. “I think I remember something like that,” she said haltingly.

Finn sounded like he was thinking hard. “Me too.”

Poe’s heart beat with happiness. He squeezed Finn’s hand.

“I’m glad.”

They floated together for a little while longer, just watching the wispy clouds in the sky and the avians that occasionally flew by.

Suddenly, Poe heard an insistent beeping coming from the shore. He let go of Finn’s hand and righted himself. To his surprise, as his feet touched the ocean bottom, the water around him reached up to his neck. He looked towards the source of the beeping noise. BB-8 was rolling down the beach towards him, squealing a warning. The trio had drifted down the shore some ways, and was starting to float out into the ocean.

Poe hurriedly grabbed at Finn, who struggled to look up without capsizing himself.

“What’s wrong?”

“We just drifted a bit,” Poe reassured him. “I’m gonna tow us back to shore. Just hold still. Rey, hold still!”

Both assured him they would. Poe began to slog back to shore, pulling Finn and Rey behind him. Finn let out a little giggle.

“This is kind of fun!”

Rey had closed her eyes to stop water from getting in them, but she was laughing too. Poe joined in, huffing slightly.

“I’m glad you think so,” he grunted.

Finn and Rey giggled for a few more moments before Poe reached a reasonable place to stop. He moved behind his friends and braced his arms under their shoulders.

“All right, you can stand up. Carefully, now.” He held up their shoulders as they sank their feet into the water, helping them stand upright. As Finn straightened, he noticed the harried look that lingered on Poe’s face. Gently, he slipped his arm around his back.

“It’s okay, babe. We’re safe.” He gestured to Rey. “Both of us. You don’t have to worry.”

Rey moved to latch herself onto Poe’s other side. “You’re taking really good care of us.”

Poe forced himself to relax. As Rey and Finn felt him slump between them, they pressed in tighter.

“Let’s go in,” Rey suggested. “Didn’t Leia say something about food?”

As soon as she finished her sentence, Finn’s stomach let out a loud gurgle. He looked down at it in surprise while Poe and Rey laughed.

“I think I’m hungry too.”

The three sloshed out of the ocean and walked back to the _Falcon_ , with BB-8 at their side. Poe found the refrigerated crate of food in the storage bay, and brought it outside for them all to eat. Rey powered through her share and lay back to soak up the sun while Finn and Poe chatted and munched on their own.

When they were done, Poe insisted that everyone put on another coat of sun protectant, saying that Rey was starting to look pink. She tried to resist, but Finn agreed, and she was forced to submit to the cool spray a second time. Finn endured the experience with more grace this time around, and Poe was unfazed as always.

“Let’s go for a walk,” said Poe as he stored the bottle away. He looked up excitedly. “Maybe we’ll find some seashells! My mother loved collecting seashells.”

His companions agreed readily, and took up his hands as they headed down the beach, BB-8 trundling along next to them. It wasn’t long until they stumbled upon their first seashell. It was pearly white, glowing softly in the sun, but looked downright dangerous. The spiraling structure was covered in sharp narrow spikes. Poe peered down at it in dismay.

“This isn’t at all what I was imagining. The shells on Yavin 4 were ... cute.”

Finn and Rey couldn’t help but laugh; this shell was far from cute. Poe looked crushed. BB-8 beeped sympathetically.

The other two leaned in as one to kiss him on either cheek.

“Aw, babe, I’m sorry,” said Finn. “I mean, this one’s not cute, but it is ... interesting. Right Rey?”

She nodded solemnly. “Very interesting. I’m just not sure I really want to pick it up.”

Poe smiled at his friends’ attempts to cheer him up. “ _You_ guys are the cute ones,” he said, just to see them blush. Laughing, he grabbed their hands again and continued down the beach.

They walked for a while longer, coming upon more strangely shaped shells, before turning around and heading back. By now, the sun had crested overhead and was heading back towards the horizon. The days on Adin were apparently shorter than they were used to at the base.

When the trio reached their towels, they made to sit down again, but BB-8 rolled in front of Poe and Rey, preventing them from doing so. It tapped its head against Rey’s knees and rolled away quickly before returning and repeating the motion with Poe. Familiar with the droid’s actions, Poe bent into a crouch, extending his hands toward it. He crept forward slowly, BB-8 keeping just out of reach, before lunging suddenly. The little droid screamed and zoomed away down the beach, with Poe chasing after it.

“C’mon, Rey!” he called over his shoulder. Finally realizing what was happening, Rey sprang into action, racing across the sand after them.

Rey and Poe chased BB-8 around the beach for a while as Finn watched from his towel, laughing. The droid shrieked as it bumped along, trying to dodge their grabbing fingers. In a fit of passion, Rey ended up throwing herself at the BB unit, but it veered out of the way just in time, and rather than gaining an armful of droid, she landed on the ground with a face full of sand.

Poe had to steady himself with his hands on his knees as he choked on his laughter, while Finn rolled back and forth on the ground. Rey lifted her head and spit the sand out of her mouth, giving BB-8 a dark look as she righted herself. Still chuckling, Poe helped her brush the sand off her stomach and legs while she took care of her chest and arms. That put an end to their game, and the pair made their way back over to where Finn sat.

He kissed both of them sloppily, pressing his sun-warmed body against theirs. Rather than returning to their own towels, they curled up onto his, wrapping themselves around him.

That’s how Luke, Han, Leia, and Chewie found them dozing when they returned about half a standard hour later. Leia chuckled, tucking herself in against Han’s side, and Luke shook his head in amusement.

Chewie roared loudly.

The three jerked awake immediately, their limbs flailing as they tried to separate from each other. The older trio laughed uproariously while BB-8 beeped in indignation.

Poe finally stood, his face flushed bright red. “You’re back!”

“Yep,” Han replied. His eyes crinkled with mirth.

“I guess you had a good day, then,” Leia piped up. She looked to where Rey and Finn were still sitting on the ground. Rey’s hair was mussed across her forehead and Finn’s cheek was creased from the towel. They nodded happily. Poe flushed further.

“How – how was your day?” he choked.

Leia sighed quietly. “About as well as can be expected. These Adinians are unexpectedly slippery. But I don’t think there’s any reason for concern.” She grinned at the three young people in front of her. “I’m just glad you enjoyed yourselves.”

“We did! Poe took us out in the water and he was teaching us how to float, but we started floating too far away so he had to pull us in, and then...” Finn babbled on as everyone gathered the supplies that were left on the beach and went up into belly of the _Falcon_. He only stopped once everyone got to the lounge, trailing off as they all took their seats. Rey and Finn settled in on either side of Poe, snuggling their heads onto his shoulders.

“That sounds very fun,” said Leia, her voice hushed.

“Mm?” Finn muttered sleepily. “Oh, yeah, it was.”

On Poe’s other side, Rey nodded her assent, even as her eyes began to slip shut. Poe leaned his head on top of Finn’s, sighing happily.

BB-8 beeped questioningly.

“Hush, BB-8,” Luke instructed. “Let them sleep.”

The lounge stayed quiet throughout the flight as the young trio slipped in an out of sleep. Finally, as the _Falcon_ touched down back at the base, Leia reached over, gently nudging them awake. They stood up drowsily, still hanging onto each other, and bid Luke, Leia, Han, and Chewie goodbye before trudging together towards their shared room. The older friends watched them go, smiling gently to themselves, until they were out of sight, then turned to take care of their own business.

When the younger trio reached their room, they collapsed directly onto one of the beds, not even bothering to change out of their swimsuits. Finn buried his nose in the crook of Poe’s neck, still smelling of sun protectant and the salt of the ocean air, and Rey curled up against his back.

“It still feels like we’re on the waves,” she murmured after a moment. Her companions hummed their agreement, and all three snuggled in closer. Wrapped in each other’s arms, they drifted into one of the deepest sleeps they had ever had.

**Author's Note:**

> Adin is apparently a real planet in the Star Wars galaxy, but there’s only a teeny-tiny Wookipedia article on it with not much info, so I made a bunch of stuff up :P I guess people don’t trust the planet’s bureaucrats?
> 
> I honestly don’t know whether people in Star Wars wear bathing suits or not, but they were kinda necessary for this story to work. Hopefully it’s not too weird.


End file.
